HOCKEY; A Ranger Reminder: No Rest for the Best

Brian Leetch would like everyone to know that the Rangers aren't idiots. They know what it means to be the No. 1 team in the National Hockey League. They know that their opponents will work harder, play better and -- if they manage a victory -- celebrate louder when the Rangers come to town.

The Buffalo Sabres gave them a pointed reminder of that on Friday night. That's when the Sabres, and their red-hot goaltender Dominik Hasek, elevated their level of play and swiped a 4-1 victory from New York in the annual New Year's Eve game at Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium.

"When a team plays a team that is tops in the league, they're going to work hard everywhere," Leetch said. "We're not stupid players. We know that's going to happen."

Life at the top can be rough, as the Rangers are quickly learning. With a 26-9-3 record and 55 points, New York leads the Atlantic Division, the Eastern Conference and all of the N.H.L. by a comfortable margin and has established itself as the team to beat.

"We have to continue preparing ourselves to be a favorite," Coach Mike Keenan said after Friday night's game. "Tonight, the celebration for Buffalo is intense because they beat the Rangers. We're a benchmark now."

If there is anything that worries the Rangers at the start of the new year, it is the pressure of playing as the favorite. Most players learned about that two seasons ago, when the Rangers won the President's Trophy with the best regular-season record, but it's a lesson that needs to be learned again.

"We're going to see some pretty intense hockey the second half of the season in the N.H.L.," Keenan said. "And that's the kind of preparation we're going to have to work on because it's going to be coming at us in waves. It's a compliment. But, at the same time, it's something we have to work on."

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The N.H.L. always has been criticized for its playoff procedures, which in the past allowed the four best teams in each division to advance to the post-season, eliminating a mere handful of teams. With the realignment, however, the eight best teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs -- a situation that, at this point, would put the Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens a heartbeat away from elimination and would knock out the talented Quebec Nordiques. An Image to Uphold

"Teams realize with the realignment and the limited number of games within the division that the push for the playoffs starts earlier," said Glenn Healy, who started in goal for the third time in four games Friday night. "Obviously, with our club we've created a reputation and that reputation means that teams look upon our hockey club as a real challenge and a real feather in their cap."

Keenan is fanatical about preparation, and the Rangers' failure to perform well in a big game against Detroit on Dec. 17 -- a game with "playoff intensity," according to most of the players -- left him deeply concerned about the Rangers ability to perform on the hot seat. And though the Rangers played well against the Sabres -- they were beaten almost single-handedly by Hasek, who stopped 39 of 40 shots -- Friday night's game only served as another example of the kind of intensity level the Rangers should expect to see from all their opponents at this point.

"I suppose it is a reminder," said Mike Gartner. "But we didn't really need it. We know things are going to be difficult. We know we have to prepare for that." SLAP SHOTS

MARK MESSIER is expected to return to the lineup Monday night when the Rangers play host to the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden. He has missed four consecutive games with a sprained right wrist. Messier injured his wrist when the Rangers last played the Panthers, in Florida on Dec. 22. . . . The Panthers first visit to the Garden marks the return of ROGER NEILSON and JOHN VANBIESBROUCK to the building they called home last season. Neilson's return comes just one day shy of the one-year anniversary of his firing as the Rangers' head coach. After a dreadful 11-6 defeat to the Sabres on New Year's Eve 1992, Neilson coached one more Rangers' game before getting fired on Jan. 4. . . . Vanbiesbrouck's visit will be the first of two this month. He has been selected to represent the Panthers in the All-Star Game Jan. 22 in New York and will share the bench with fellow Eastern Conference selection MIKE RICHTER , his old goaltending partner.

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A version of this article appears in print on January 2, 1994, on Page 8008008 of the National edition with the headline: HOCKEY; A Ranger Reminder: No Rest for the Best. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe